Issue of the Week:

A Simple Way to Aid Domestic Violence Survivors

The campaign to require paid sick days to all Milwaukee workers rightly
emphasizes the boost in health and productivity that will be provided
to employees, employers, parents and anyone who encounters sick
employees in their workplace.

But the paid sick days referendum—which will be on the city of Milwaukee
ballot on Nov. 4—also would allow survivors of domestic violence to
take time off of work without fear of being fired or disciplined or
losing their wages. Domestic violence survivors can use these days off
to get medical treatment, access the law enforcement and court systems,
find new shelter and help their children. An estimated 8,500 city
residents were victims of domestic abuse in 2006. Not allowing them the
time they need to cope with their basic physical, emotional and health
needs is nothing short of inhumane.

On Nov. 4, Milwaukee
voters can choose to help working men and women maintain steady
employment and provide stable homes for their children. The solution is
simple: Provide earned sick leave to employees so they can take time
off when they’re sick or suffering from abuse at home.

Hero of the Week: Jeannetta Robinson

The
community lost a tireless advocate for the underprivileged this week
with the passing of Jeannetta Robinson, founder and executive director
of Career Youth Development, which provides educational and social
service programs to the inner city. The Milwaukee County Board of
Supervisors’ Black Caucus said of Robinson, the “community will never
forget the helping hand she lent to one and all. The vision shared by
Jeannetta and her mother, Claretta Simpson, led to the building of an
organization that is vital to giving hope to those who have nowhere
else to turn. She was a great soldier and had the ability to take care
of those who need the help most. This vision is a true inspiration to
all of us. While we will never fully replace this loss to the
community, Jeannetta’s legacy will live on through the thousands of
lives impacted during her stay with us.”

Jerk of the Week: Steve Baas

Steve
Baas, former aide to Assembly Republican and convicted felon Scott
Jensen, currently scampers about town as a big-business lobbyist
screeching warnings about the paid sick days referendum on November’s
ballot, arguing unconvincingly that businesses would migrate en masse
out of the city rather than provide modest sick leave to their valued
employees. In an amusing bit of tortured logic, Baas told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that
not having sick days is “better than not having a job. They won’t have
to worry about sick leave if they don’t have a job to take it from.”
Curiously, Baas himself accumulated 150 sick days while working for the
state, and used one-third of them, according to public records obtained
by One Wisconsin
Now (OWN). OWN Executive Director Scot Ross says that if Baas “is so
opposed to paid sick days for Milwaukee workers, he should return the
51 days of sick pay the taxpayers footed for him.”

“What
did John McCain do [in response to the economic crisis]? He laid out
some new attacks on Barack Obama. The distinction could not be clearer:
One guy is fighting for you and the other guy is fighting mad.”
—Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Seminary Woods, by Matthew Sliker

"While driving down Lake Drive the other day, I spotted two deer posing for the perfect fall picture!"

Poll

A Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission panel upheld the firing of former Milwaukee Police officer Christopher Manney for violating department rules last April when he encountered Dontre Hamilton before fatally shooting him. Do you agree with the commission’s decision?